Exploring the canals in Amsterdam (2 of 3)

Museums

In the city of Amsterdam there are many museums, where in most of them they give you student discount. In addition, there's a wide variety of things to see, from historic nature and archaeological museums to other references to sex, eroticism and alcohol.

One museum in particular I recommend visiting is the Van Loon Museum, where you can freely roam around Van Loon's Family house from the 18th century (it was their house since 1884), looking around the different rooms and housing of that time. As you may notice, I'll tell you that it's closed on Tuesdays and students only pay 6 euros to go inside. In front of that museum you'll find the Geelvinck-Hinlopen Museum, a mansion with art collections and exhibitions from the 18th and 19th centuries. To go around the rooms, you must buy your ticket. Adult tickets costs 8 euros, but there are discounts for students. In the same area, you'll find the Willet-Holthuysen Museum, a family mansion from the 17th century, where you can look around the different rooms and look at their personal belongings. In this second museum there are no discounts for students: you have to pay 6 euros to go inside. It's a really interesting and pretty museum, but if you're only going to be in Amsterdam for a weekend, perhaps it's better to dedicate your time to seeing other galleries.

Clock in the Van Loon Museum

Kitchen utensils in the Van Loon Museum

In Amsterdam there's a museum where you can find out about old civilisations (Egyptian, Greek, Roman culture, etc. ). This museum is called the Allard Pierson Museum. It's open every day of the week, except on a few bank holidays, and the entrance fee for students is quite cheap: it only costs 3.25 euros. Personally, I really like this museum, however being a true fan of the study of the Ancient World, I must admit that I've seen exhibitions of better ancient pieces.

Continuing with the museums in Amsterdam, I mustn't forget about the Rijksmuseum or the National Museum. This is not a visit you can miss out on, if you're visiting the city, you must see the art work displayed ranging from the 15th century to the 17th century this museum has to offer. It's a truly magnificent museum which we spent the whole morning looking around, admiring all the work from Dutch artists, like Lucas van Leyden, Frans Hals, Jan Vermeer and Rembrandt van Rijn and artists from other countries such as Fra Angelico, Pedro Pablo Rubens and Francisco de Goya. I can assure you that it's a fascinating museum: The Night Watch by Rembrandt will blow your minds. The entrance fee for adults is 15 euros, but it's honestly worth paying that price.

Rijksmuseum building

Inside the Rijksmuseum

A funny story, the same morning we went around the rooms and the corridors in the museum, we bumped into some classmates who were travelling around Europe on an Interrail trip, and on that exact day, they were in Amsterdam. It was such a coincidence and, I guess it was fate, that we had the chance to share our experience with them. We made food in our accommodation at the last minute (and since we were short on resources, and there were many unexpected things which came up, we were only able to make something to eat every day at 5p. m. ), as we were good hosts, and we spent a few hours together. They made us their tour guides and we took them to a few places we had already been to in Amsterdam.

Leaving the unexpected encounters aside, another museum we enjoyed was the Van Gogh Museum, dedicated to the artist who cut his own ear off. The entrance is 15 euros for adults, but I can assure you that this gallery won't let you down. As well as the special experience of being able to look at incredible works of art by Van Gogh, in the main hall there was a band playing, sofas to rest on and a lovely bar. But on top of that, if that wasn't enough, we were really caught by surprise: an invitation to the public to an Art room, and when we arrived, we put on a white coat and they gave us a canvas, a paint pallet and a brush... They asked us to recreate one of Van Gogh's paintings, given us the freedom to be imaginative! It was one of the most enjoyable moments of the trip, where for a second, we felt like real artists in Amsterdam. As proof, here is my "extraordinary" masterpiece:

Painting, trying to recreate the "Wheat field: at sunrise" by Van Gogh

For Contemporary Art lovers, here is another fantastic place to mention: the Stedelijk Museum, where they exhibit modern art pieces. On Monday it's closed and the entrance costs 10 euros.

These museums are very near the beautiful park: Vondelpark, where there's a lake and a church, Vondelkerk. This park is a good place to stop and have a rest for a while under the sun (if it isn't cloudy). In Museumplein Square, near this park, you can also find the Diamond Museum, which costs 6 euros to enter (as I said earlier, Amsterdam is full of all kinds of museums).

As well as going to the Rijksmuseum, another must-see in Amsterdam is the House of Anne Frank, the hiding place of the Frank family where little Anne wrote her diary. This visit is highly interesting, even though it's an emotionally tough trip, where you get to wander around the rooms of the house (Anne Frank's), you can see some of the furniture and personal belongings. There are also historical documents (newspapers, photographs, etc. ). The visit was very moving in itself, but even more so because a friend of mine had the "Diary of Anne Frank" with her, and she was reading it to us as we were going around. General admission costs 8.50 euros, but by showing your young person's card you get a discount of 4 euros.

Next to this museum, you'll find the church Westerkerk, in Westermarkt Square, and the Tulip Museum Amsterdam. The price to go inside this museum for students is 2 euros. On the other hand, perhaps one of the most beautiful places is the Hortus Botanicus, and it only costs 3.50 euros for students; although there are other and better options, depending on how much time you have in Amsterdam.

Another good option is to visit the Hermitage Museum Amsterdam, where they have displays of what Russia of the Tsars was like, reminding us of the Hermitage of St Petersburg. The entrance fee is 15 euros and, although it could be interesting, as I said before, if you're going on an express trip to Amsterdam, it's probably best to use your time visiting another place.

A very famous museum is the Wax Museum Madame Tussauds Amsterdam, which takes its name after the pioneer Marie Grosholz, who in the 18th century had the idea of creating a museum of this kind. In this excellent museum. You can photograph yourself with celebrities such as Nelson Mandela, Marilyn Monroe, Charlie Chaplin, Michael Jackson and the actual Madame Tussaud herself. The entrance fee is 14 euros and it's a very fun trip. By the way, did you know that it was actually Amsterdam, not the UK who set up a branch of this popular museum?

Likewise, a truly dark museum is the Torture Museum, where you can see different torture instruments from the Medieval times. The entrance fee is 5 euros and all I'll say is that it's interesting.

As well as the museums and places I've referred to, there are other let's say "alternatives", like the Sex Museum or "Temple of Venus", the first museum in the world dedicated to this subject and it costs 3 euros to go inside. Regarding the museum, I'd say it caught our attention and we felt encouraged to see it, but the truth is that it's not really worth it. If you want to have a laugh it's not bad, but don't expect anything amazing. There's also the Erotic Museum, although this one is a little more expensive: the entrance fee costs 5 euros and we didn't go inside in case it was going to be the same as the other one.

Continuing with the places of "bad habits", you'll see a very interesting museum like the Marihuana Museum in the Red-Light District, and it costs 9 euros for adults. It was very interesting to see. There's also the Vodka Museum, where students only have to pay 6 euros to enter. Similarly, beer lovers can really enjoy the Heineken Experience. It costs 16 euros but it's something different to see, it has a few fun games and activities, and of course, a tasting session: in my opinion it was too expensive.

As you will have noticed, there are so many museums to please everyone, and you're able to explore a lot of them at a good price. In addition, it's the best thing to do when the only thing waiting for you in the street is your umbrella.

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